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docb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sweetsorrows's review against another edition
5.0
easily one of my favorite books i’ve read in the past year. it does a fucking amazing job of balancing practical problems with intriguing plot. having a smart protagonist is something i’ll never tire of. this book read so quickly and smoothly and made me laugh out loud multiple times. i’m excited to read whatever else andy weir has put out.
ashpalmer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
squeakypeach's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
mkhare's review against another edition
2.0
I am one of those people who found this book exceedingly dull. The author did little to convince me that Mark had any emotions or thoughts about anything besides potato-farming and Mars engineering, or that he had any kind of life before the mission. Was Mark just a robot whose understanding of relatable humanity consisted of saying the word ‘f*ck’ every now and again? It’s possible! Surely over the course of over 500 sols Mark would’ve reminisced about his past, talked about how he ended up in his current career, or even just hinted at his psychological/emotional changes during a year and a half of physical and mental near-constant isolation. No such luck!
When problems arose for Mark, I had no time to worry or stress because he was already telling me exactly how he was fixing the problem, and in minute scientific detail. Even the author’s occasional attempts to create some kind of build up of tension or impact by pulling back into omniscient third person (such as when we learnt of the birth of AL102) did absolutely nothing for me. Turns out I really need to connect to characters to connect to a story.
I feel as though I am writing like Mark now. I had better take the next few sols off to re-calibrate...
When problems arose for Mark, I had no time to worry or stress because he was already telling me exactly how he was fixing the problem, and in minute scientific detail. Even the author’s occasional attempts to create some kind of build up of tension or impact by pulling back into omniscient third person (such as when we learnt of the birth of AL102) did absolutely nothing for me. Turns out I really need to connect to characters to connect to a story.
I feel as though I am writing like Mark now. I had better take the next few sols off to re-calibrate...
slushysands's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
What a find! Occasionally Richard and Judy surprise me with an unusual choice that turns out to be a piece of undiscovered gold.
Who would have though that a story billed as 'Castaway meets Apollo 13' would have nearly made me late for work?! But science won me over, science and space thrills.
It's simple enough to convey: a team working on Mars is surprised by a dust storm. One of the team is lost with a hole in his suit, the others told to evacuate. Leaving him behind, he wakes up later to discover his situation. His team think him dead, NASA think he's dead. He's on his own.
Absolutely HOOKED. And I'm not ashamed to say that I have a huge crush on botanist/engineer Mark Watney. Huge. He narrates the story as journal entries from Mars, as problem after problem must be overcome - his suit, water, heat, food just for starters. Each time his sense of humour only heightens the tension as you see just how terrifying it must be there for him to make light of it later.
It's a book with a LOT of science in it. I won't pretend to understand more than 1 in 10 of Mark's explanations and solutions, but it doesn't matter. The overall terror, the human story, the excitement mean you can follow Mark's progress without having to catch all the terminology.
It does feel well researched though. You do feel you can picture Mars: the cold, the barren landscape, the loneliness.
Marks story changes from Castaway's one-man-trial partway through to more Apollo 13 as the NASA side of the tale begins to filter in and awareness of his 'alive' status arises. Earth's reaction is well detailed. NASA's plans and frantic meetings feel real, the desperation to save this lone man and the millions poured into it touching.
And yet Mark keeps his irreverent sense of humour as he reaches ever closer to a lonely death.... Just how will it end?
I was on the edge of the bed desperately turning pages to get there. I loved the writing, the back and forth Mars to Earth narration. I loved Mark's cobbled-together and insane plans. I loved the tension and space talk (even if I didn't follow it all). You do not had to be a techie to enjoy this.
I've already got a few library customers to order this. They better stay away from Mark though :)
Looking out for the author's next book. Excellent way to get noticed Mr Weir.
Who would have though that a story billed as 'Castaway meets Apollo 13' would have nearly made me late for work?! But science won me over, science and space thrills.
It's simple enough to convey: a team working on Mars is surprised by a dust storm. One of the team is lost with a hole in his suit, the others told to evacuate. Leaving him behind, he wakes up later to discover his situation. His team think him dead, NASA think he's dead. He's on his own.
Absolutely HOOKED. And I'm not ashamed to say that I have a huge crush on botanist/engineer Mark Watney. Huge. He narrates the story as journal entries from Mars, as problem after problem must be overcome - his suit, water, heat, food just for starters. Each time his sense of humour only heightens the tension as you see just how terrifying it must be there for him to make light of it later.
It's a book with a LOT of science in it. I won't pretend to understand more than 1 in 10 of Mark's explanations and solutions, but it doesn't matter. The overall terror, the human story, the excitement mean you can follow Mark's progress without having to catch all the terminology.
It does feel well researched though. You do feel you can picture Mars: the cold, the barren landscape, the loneliness.
Marks story changes from Castaway's one-man-trial partway through to more Apollo 13 as the NASA side of the tale begins to filter in and awareness of his 'alive' status arises. Earth's reaction is well detailed. NASA's plans and frantic meetings feel real, the desperation to save this lone man and the millions poured into it touching.
And yet Mark keeps his irreverent sense of humour as he reaches ever closer to a lonely death.... Just how will it end?
I was on the edge of the bed desperately turning pages to get there. I loved the writing, the back and forth Mars to Earth narration. I loved Mark's cobbled-together and insane plans. I loved the tension and space talk (even if I didn't follow it all). You do not had to be a techie to enjoy this.
I've already got a few library customers to order this. They better stay away from Mark though :)
Looking out for the author's next book. Excellent way to get noticed Mr Weir.
midici's review against another edition
4.0
Yesterday I decided to treat myself and buy a book. Instead of buying any of the books on my "to-read" list, I grabbed The Martian. I got home from work, sat down with the book, and did not get up again until it was finished. I could not stop reading this book. There were a lot of technical details, some of which were explained well, others were not. There was some literary quirks I didn't like (saying "remember when..." every time to remind your reader of what happened previously was one of them). The fact that we rarely got a glimpse of a really depressed or angry Mark, despite his situation, also threw me off a bit. I would have liked to see him deal with his own attitude as a potential issue instead of just fighting off physical and technical problems.
But none of that mattered.
I was so engrossed in the story I could not stop. I needed to know what would happen, how he would tackle every new issue that popped up, the reactions of all the people back on Earth and of his team mates, safe on the Hermes ship. This was an engaging, surprising, realistic(ish) survival story of a man trapped on Mars. It's great.
But none of that mattered.
I was so engrossed in the story I could not stop. I needed to know what would happen, how he would tackle every new issue that popped up, the reactions of all the people back on Earth and of his team mates, safe on the Hermes ship. This was an engaging, surprising, realistic(ish) survival story of a man trapped on Mars. It's great.
lurker_stalker's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best books I've read. The subject is fascinating, the characters are engaging - particularly Mark Watney. I had to regularly remind myself that this was not a retelling of actual events and that these people are fictional.
I won't lie, I did tend to zone out a touch during some of the longer scientific passages but they only made the story feel more real. I can only imagine the insane amount of research that went into this book.
In addition to the fantastic writing, the extremely engaging story, and the great character portrayals, the narrator did a stellar job of bringing it all together.
I won't lie, I did tend to zone out a touch during some of the longer scientific passages but they only made the story feel more real. I can only imagine the insane amount of research that went into this book.
In addition to the fantastic writing, the extremely engaging story, and the great character portrayals, the narrator did a stellar job of bringing it all together.
ruth_bookdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75